The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 217

Xu Tian never expected that attending a banquet would lead to his kidnapping. The road was bumpy, and his kidnappers must have been very poor, as the carriage he was riding in had peeling paint.

It seemed they had just rented the carriage recently. Xu Tian was speechless as he looked at himself with his hands and feet tied up and a rag stuffed in his mouth.

He was quickly taken to a small mountain village. Several people helped Xu Tian out of the car, and several old women rushed out of the house.

"You bunch of devils! You actually kidnapped Grand Tutor Xu!"

"What nonsense are you spouting? If you keep talking nonsense, I'll divorce you!"

One of the men was a burly man with a fierce-looking face, threatening his wife.

Xu Tian gestured for them to untie him.

"You think you're some kind of Grand Tutor? Let me tell you, we've kidnapped you, Xu Tian."

Helpless, Xu Tian then carefully observed the surrounding terrain.

He must have been kidnapped to a village, a small, isolated town with a mountain behind him. The village is surrounded by mountains, with harsh soil and lots of rocks, making it impossible to grow crops.

If he guessed correctly, there were stones everywhere you looked when you tried to use a hoe, which is why the people here were extremely poor; it was a typical hilly terrain.

Soon, Xu Tian was taken to a room and tied to a chair. The kidnapper was named Niu Er.

“Go and call the scholar from the village. I’ll have him write a letter.”

Xu Tian was curious about what would happen next when he saw the thinner man from before walk in and say, "Brother, the scholar said he would never go along with the corrupt practices. This is kidnapping, which is illegal."

Xu Tian found it somewhat amusing; indeed, those who had studied and lived a virtuous life knew that doing so was wrong.

Niu Er immediately glared and said, "His family has been suffering from famine for a long time. If it weren't for my help, his whole family would have starved to death the year before last!"

If they still can't get any food this year, I'll be the first to stop helping them and let his blind old mother starve to death. What kind of era is this? Does she really think she can survive by writing letters all by herself?

Sure enough, after about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a thin scholar walked in. Upon seeing Xu Tian, ​​he immediately lowered his gaze in a panic.

Xu Tian immediately understood that this was a place where one couldn't make a living by relying on literary talent.

“Write a letter to General Wang at the border. If he doesn’t bring food to rescue us, then I will have no choice but to kill Xu Tian. Remember, the food must be a full ten cartloads. There are a hundred households in our village.”

Xu Tian gestured again for them to remove the strip of cloth blocking his way. The scholar thought for a moment and agreed to tear the cloth off, and Xu Tian finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't worry, I won't run away."

Niu Er glared at him and said, "You stay put, and I won't take your life."

Xu Tian shook his head and said, "I have observed your village, and because you don't have farmland, it will be difficult for you to survive this winter. If you knew how to farm, you wouldn't need to use this fake official to coerce me."

"Do you even need to tell me? If it weren't for this damn terrain, we would have farmland and paddy fields, and who would want to do this kind of thing?"

“I can see that you did this for the sake of the villagers, but this is not the right way. If you hadn’t kidnapped me today, you and your accomplices would have been doomed when I returned.”

Upon hearing this, a murderous glint flashed in Niu Er's eyes.

"What did you say?"